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Bakersfield '52

The two tone color with no roof scoops put this as an early race.  Thanks again Joel Driscoll.

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Reliable and Fast

You can't win if you don't finish.  The car was very reliable.  The magazines questioned the reliability but usually the problem was not the fault of mechanical design.  A car tagged a hay bale and spun the hay bale into the raceway.  Jim hit the hay bale and it cracked an oil line which ended the day.  That might be the Cannon Mk2 Crosley next to the 'coupe'.

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Roll

The tubular front axle was basically an anti-roll bar along with a high front spring mount which made the car corner deceptively 'flat'.  The majority of the mass of the engine was below the roll center.

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Offy Powered

Jim's connection to the Indianapolis cars got him some Offenhauser parts.  (And speedway tires that they had retreaded.)  Specifically a tall block and short stroke which got the compression ratio down enough to run gasoline.  Then they layed it down flat to get the weight low.

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